Not Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, or Justin Bieber, this is Billboard's greatest pop star of the 21st century

After a four-month-long exercise, Billboard announced its greatest pop star of the 21st century, but not without controversy.

A quarter of the 21st century has passed. As 2024 draws to a close, Billboard Magazine began an exercise to rank the 'greatest pop artist' of the century, using their expertise (and opinions) to attempt this nigh-impossible task. Although the series began in August, the final name—that of the number one artist—was announced on Tuesday night. And it has the fans divided. (

Billboard's greatest pop star of the 21st century

Billboard's greatest pop star of the 21st century

Pop queen Beyonce has been ranked number one in Billboard's list of the greatest pop stars of the century. She pipped Taylor Swift for the crown, who had been revealed as the number 2 name on the list last week. Listing her achievements, Billboard says Beyonce has 9 number 1 hits on Billboard Hot 100 and 24 top-10 hits. " In February 2023, Beyonce became the top Grammy winner of all time, breaking out of a tie with late classical conductor Sir Georg Solti, when she brought her total to 32 awards at that point," writes the magazine.

Who Beyonce beat to the top

Taylor Swift was controversially number 2 on the list, losing out on the top spot, something the singer's fans did not take too kindly. Many argued that Taylor's impact on pop culture and music has been bigger, and she also has more number 1 songs and bigger-selling albums and tours. Number 3 on the list is theR&B icon Rihanna, followed by the first male artist, Drake. Lady Gaga rounds up the top five. Other names in the top 10 include Britney Spears, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Adele. There was controversy over names like Eminem, Miley Cyrus, and BTS not making it to the top 10.

How Billboard created the list

Billboard began the exercise in August. On its website, the magazine explains, "Since late August, we’ve been rolling out our picks for the artists who have most defined pop stardom for the last 25 years—with essays for each artist recapping their careers and explaining why they’ve exemplified pop greatness to us over the period." The names were selected by Billboard editors after deliberation and internal voting.